Who is Marcus?
by AshenWhisper
Summary: Named after the Lab Rat webisodes, this fic is a three-part drabble I made with my idea of a potential origin for Marcus, told through a conversation with Davenport after the capture that's implied in the new promo. Pretty wordy, rated K-plus for a bit of violence and general emotional-ness. I wrote this for fun, we'll see if it's anywhere near his real origin.
1. The Kidnapping

Donald Davenport was sitting in the lab Saturday afternoon, reading through schematics as always. It was a normal day; the kids were off at frozen yogurt taking advantage of Adam's new license, and Tasha was covering a surprise story about some prize-winning cabbage in the area. It was interesting, the way so much had changed since years ago when he'd started the project on the children. He now had an amazing wife and four kids who were all friends and got the chance to pretend to be normal in the real world.

He smiled a bit to himself as he scrolled through documents. He'd always had plenty of money and pride, and then the kids happened. And then Tasha and Leo. The solitary inventor had become a family man, handling Bree's drama and the boys' antics as best as he could. Parenting was a new world to him, and yet getting to wake up every morning to Tasha and the kids was so much better than he thought it would be. He wasn't perfect, he'd made plenty of mistakes, even though he didn't like to admit it. His ego, for example. And Adam, Bree and Chase weren't the only ones having to adjust to a 'normal' social life. Yet his family had shown him how good it could be. And even after the kids went out into the real world for so long, nothing had gone horribly wrong. A few close calls, sure. But so far, everything had been just fine.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

When he heard his voice singing in the distance, he closed down the file. "Guess they're back early," he muttered to himself.

Once he heard the smash he knew something was wrong. He took in a sharp breath, waiting to hear some loud comment from Chase about Adam's clumsiness. But as he hoped, not even the sound of his singing came through the elevator. The kids wouldn't be so quiet, and Tasha wouldn't have smashed… anything.

Something was wrong.

Instinctively, he crouched behind the lab bench. "Eddy," He said. "Show me the elevator feed!"

But he didn't have the time. He'd barely finished the sentence when the elevator doors opened.

"Really, behind the desk?" He let out an anxious breath. He vaguely recognized the boyish voice, but couldn't place it. "We have camera feeds. Just stand up and save your dignity."

He balled his right hand into a fist, trying to prepare himself for whoever he'd find. _Kids, please get home soon, _He thought. Then he stood and turned.

Near the mouth of the elevator was the face he recognized immediately. He'd aged, for sure. But he'd know that face anywhere. Garrett. The kids' birth Father.

And in front of him, wearing a glare Davenport didn't recognize, was the boy who'd spent the night at their house smiling and happy just recently; Marcus.

"Garrett," Davenport said in bitter disbelief. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you for a while."

"Well," He put his hands out in front of him. "Here I am."

He looked to the boys' friend. "Marcus, what are you doing here? Did he force you into this?"

Marcus smirked. "Oh Mr. Davenport, ignorant to the end." He took a few steps forward. "Leo warned you about me, didn't he?"

"Well," he stuck folded his arms and shrugged. "Not… specifically. I mean, he told us he didn't trust you, but-"

"But you passed it off as a pre-teen's paranoia." Marcus shook his head, smiling again. The previously kind boy's voice was threatening. "You should have listened to him."

"Marcus, I should warn you," Davenport got into a threatening kung fu crouch with his hands up, but it only made them raise their eyebrows in amusement like he was a tiny growling puppy. "I'm top level in multiple kinds of karate, kung fu and capoeira. So are the kids, and they're upstairs."

Marcus tilted his head to the side, losing the smile. "Doesn't phase me. Especially because the part about Adam, Bree and Chase is a lie."

Davenport bit his lip, then spoke. "Oh yeah? How do you know they're not on already their way?"

Marcus smiled slightly, and Garrett folded his arms. "Because I invited them out for frozen yogurt."

Davenport straightened up a little bit. But he still was slowly losing the fear he'd had at the initial break-in. So, maybe Marcus was as manipulative as Leo had warned. But the small teenager and his untrained father were no match for him. "Okay, so you are evil like Leo said." Davenport smirked. "Standing people up to yogurt is just nasty."

Deep down, he silently hoped that that really was the extent of it.

Garret folded his arms and smiled. "If only you knew."

"Well, let's get this over with then," Donald tried to take control of the situation. "I'd hate for you to miss your little date with my children."

"Don't call them that," Garrett glared. "And sure we can. Marcus?"

Donald moved away from the desk, ready to take down the boy. But he didn't have the chance.

Marcus, threw his hands out in front of his body with a lunge. Suddenly, Donald was stuck in a cloud of green… something.

"See Davenport?" Garrett glared. "Nice and quick." _Marcus is… bionic?_

That's when Donald showed his fear. He couldn't move, and someone he didn't trust or like had bionic powers over him. He had no idea where he was going or what they'd do to him, and there was nothing he could do about it.


	2. The Confrontation

**Hey guys! Ashley here. I've decided to split this into three parts, because I'm wordy and don't want the second chapter to be overwhelming. But I am putting the rest of it out today, because I feel like getting my writing out there before tomorrow's premiere where we (hopefully) find out who Marcus and his Dad really are. But, because I love this show and felt like writing it out, here's my take on Marcus' origins. One final tie-up chapter to come. Hope you like it! Reviews appreciated! :)**

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Davenport didn't say a word on their way over to Garrett's house, or when he was being locked in the prison with the blue bars. When Marcus and Garrett left, he simply glared, trying to muster up animosity. Donald had never been a particularly bitter person, and he didn't have much of a reason to hate Garrett. Well, there was the whole breaking in and kidnapping thing… But he was much more shocked than angry. For a while he'd just been waiting in the cell. Worried about what would happen to him, sure, but mainly trying to figure out how Garrett managed to get a bionic child. The idea gave him chills. He knew Garrett didn't have the same moral code as he did, but then again, he was the one spearheading the project in the first place. But… did he make Marcus on his own?

The door opened. Marcus strode in. He stared at where Davenport sat in his cell, and let his frozen yogurt dish fall into the garbage.

Davenport let out a snort of contempt. "They have recycling at the store, that's quite a waste just to try to get to me."

Marcus gave him a puzzled look. "I don't need to try and 'get to you.' Trust me, I'll get to you without trying."

Davenport let out a sigh, trying to look unfazed and calm himself. "Marcus, what connection do you even have to this guy? What's in this for you?"

"Why," His voice now had a strange, mean smoothness to it that Davenport hadn't heard from him before. "Did you want to buy me off, millionaire?"

"Well," Davenport smiled to himself. "Billionaire, technically."

"Shut up," Marcus snapped. He came to the edge of the cell.

"So how exactly do you intend to get to me?" He brought his knees up, leaning forward to rest his wrists on them. "Killing me? Torture? Tickling me until I crack?" Even in the face of danger, he continued his snarking. "I raised three kids; I have to warn you that I'm not very ticklish."

"I don't need to do anything to get to you," Marcus leaned on the bars, looking down at the adult. "The truth will do that on its own."

This time Davenport narrowed his eyes. "The truth? What 'truth?'"

Marcus folded his hands behind him and took a few slow strides. Davenport raised his eyebrows at the comic book villain-esque action. "The thing that your precious Adam, Bree and Chase don't know." He spat each name like they tasted disgusting in his mouth.

"Marcus, I don't know what you're getting at," He said honestly, then he laughed nervously. "I'm very honest with them! Chase knows almost everything about me." He scratched the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious. "Maybe more than he should. I was a pretty young Dad when they were growing up."

"You're _not _their Father." He glared into the cage as he walked.

"Look, Marcus," He breathed out again, bringing his hand through his dark hair. "I don't know what Garrett's told you." He pressed his lips together, standing up. "But he doesn't have a particularly high opinion of me."

Marcus stopped, stepping out instead of forward. He leaned forward, wrapping both hands around the cage. "Tell me about the project."

Davenport swallowed. "What project?"

"You know what project," He snapped. "The bionics. Or have you already forgotten about them?"

"Why do you want a history lesson?" He rubbed his fingers on his temple. "It was such a long time ago."

"Tell me."

Donald looked at the teenager. He wore dark camo, his hair smoothed to the side, eyes watching him, his expression both angry and curious. It looked like there was no talking him out of this, especially since he couldn't even figure out the teen's role in all of this. Not only that, but he'd only been around him once or twice. He had no idea how to go about this. So he did what he was told. He took in a breath, and began explaining.

"Well, the chips were my idea. And… I had a bunch of lab assistants at Davenport industries, but I didn't know who I could trust. So I only told a few of them, along with a close friend." He paused. He'd only relayed the story a few times, to Tasha and parts to Leo and… Actually, he couldn't remember the last time he'd told someone the story. Marcus' face had faded from anger to attentiveness.

"Was it my Dad?" His voice was numb.

"Garrett."

Marcus nodded. Davenport couldn't help it, his jaw dropped a bit. "You're Garrett's son?"

"Yeah," He muttered.

"Oh," Davenport tried to sound unsurprised again. Still, his heart swelled with a mixed feeling of confusion and regret to know that his old best friend had raised a child… and he had no idea. Suddenly then he could see in Marcus' eyes, his jaw, even the way he folded his arms, a slight similarity to Garrett. And Chase. And Adam.

He really was their brother.

Finally, he couldn't hold it in. "Garrett had another kid," He said, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry… I just didn't know." He spoke faster now, despite the dark-haired boy's uninterested expression. "He never told me. I mean, I heard his wife left him, but-" Donald clapped a hand over his mouth. He knew where Adam got his loose tongue from.

"What do you know about that?!" Marcus glared, taking his hands off of the bars and making them into fists.

Davenport put a hand up. "Marcus, I'm sorry, I didn't think of that." The boy just glared. "Honestly, I just… haven't gotten used to the idea that you're his son. I guess I figured I would have known." He let out a bitter chuckle. "But I guess anything could've happened while we weren't talking."

"Do you know what I could do to you?" Marcus growled.

"Ah, no," Donald admitted. "But with bionics I can imagine it might be a tad unpleasant."

For the first time, Marcus smiled at his comment. But it wasn't the eye-rolling smile Tasha gave or the I-get-it-even-if-no-one-else-does smile Chase would give him. It was a nasty smile. Davenport swallowed. "Anyway, your Father," the title felt strange on his tongue. "He… Well, I met him in high school, and as we got older, he had some money trouble. He wouldn't accept any charity form me, but when I told him about the chip program that I'd been developing and trying on animals… He suggested that I actually try it on a person." He looked up at the boy, whose angry features had again relaxed. Maybe he should keep him talking. It seemed to distract Marcus. Though it concerned Donald not knowing what Marcus knew, or what he thought he knew. "Implant the chip in a child, update it as they grow, and raise them. My intention was to wait until they were adults, and let them take care of significant issues that normal humans couldn't handle. A train going out of control with dangerous chemicals, a gas leak, things like that. But your Father…" He thought I should go a different direction." He paused for a breath, but not long in hopes that Marcus wouldn't ask questions.

"I wanted to go through the legal procedures, but who knows if the stuff in sci-fi shows about the government is real or not." He let out a breath. "I didn't want my research shipped off to some military facility, or tested on soldiers or anything like that. Power like this needs to be used responsibly for good, and there's no telling where it could end up if it left my hands."

"You want it to be used responsibly, so you gave it to children?" His voice was critical.

"Well," He looked down, using the analogy of something he'd thought of long ago. "You're smart. What happens if someone's born blind?"

Marcus narrowed his eyes, but not in a critical way. "Well, they'd probably just accept it as normal eventually, since they know no different." He shrugged. "They'd learn to adapt and live normal lives. Or, as close to normal as they could."

"But if they get into an accident and lose their sight as adults?"

He cringed. "I dunno, they probably have a breakdown. They have to learn a new language, a new way to live…"

"Exactly. So if a child was given, say, super strength as a child, they'd see it as the norm for themselves and learn to control it. Well, as well as Adam does anyway," He smiled a bit to himself. "But if a person in power was given it as an adult…" He frowned. "They could easily become power-hungry and use it for the wrong reasons, since it's new to them. That was my motivation in starting with children. They've already done lots of good on their missions, they've saved lives and they're only teenagers."

"Only then someone like me comes around," Marcus filled in his thoughts. Davenport gave him a nervous look, and he smirked. "And screws everything up for you and your little lab rats."

Davenport used the soft voice he normally saved for teaching Leo a lesson. "Marcus, you don't have to screw anything up. It's not too late to stop this."

Marcus just ignored him this time. "Tell me about the project."

No dice. "Like I said, your Father's situation with his new wife was… complicated. Especially their finances. Despite how much good it would do…" He let out a sigh. "I didn't want to do the project if I had to adopt a child and do something without its permission behind everyone's back. It just felt… wrong." Donald cringed. "But when I talked to Garrett about that, he wanted me to do it. He said he'd have a child, and raise him, allowing me to come over everyone week or so and train him, then take him on missions when he was older. I would also provide him some compensation so he could afford it, and be the child's godfather should anything bad happen. If he didn't want the chip, we'd take it out for him. It was going to be very different than what happened. He swore they'd wanted to have a child anyway and I believed him." He shook his head. "His wife agreed, and soon Adam was born."

"Subject A," Marcus filled in. Davenport nodded.

"But… things changed. Your Dad… he got greedy."

Marcus snorted and rolled his eyes. "Shocker."

Davenport smiled a bit. It was an odd moment of comradery between the two, and he found himself oddly curious about what it would be like to be raised by a man like Garrett. "He wanted to have two more children, and I agreed. I thought we needed something to balance out Adam on future missions. So, B and C came along."

"Bree and Chase." Davenport looked down.

"Then, we had some disagreements. Things got complicated. It happened when Chase was only 1, so I told him that if he wanted, I could remove the chips and let him take them home. Raise them like normal kids, keep my money, and pretend it had never happened." Davenport closed his eyes for a moment, uncomfortable reliving the memory. When he opened his eyes Marcus was watching him, expressionless. He looked away. "But it was a hard time for him. He dropped them off at the lab and just… left. He ignored my emails, calls, all of it. I only knew your Mom had left through the grapevine."

Marcus looked down. "So what about me?"

Davenport shrugged. "I guess… He had another child. He must have somehow gotten hold of my plans, or a spare chip, or something. Look, I'm sorry Marcus," He put his hands to his temples again. "But if you were looking for answers I'm not going to be of much help."

He looked up and Marcus had rested his head against a bar and folded his arms. For a few moments his stare just burned into Davenport – thankfully not literally – until he unfolded his arms. His face changed, not to an angry expression, but almost a look of disappointment. "You're not a very good liar."

Donald gave him an immediate look of denial. "Everything I told you is the truth!"

"What about what you didn't tell me?" His tone was much more biting now. "Or have you forgotten the details after so long?"

Davenport's stomach dropped when he realized what Marcus was getting at. "You mean… he told you about… the fourth?"

"Oh yeah," Marcus raised his eyebrows, then looked down, unimpressed. "He told me. What about my siblings?" Davenport could tell he was only using the phrase to throw him off, but he still was successful.

"They… they don't know yet."

"Oh, fun," Marcus smiled, suddenly energetic. "So I get to break the news to them."

Davenport's eyes widened. "No," His voice broke. "Marcus, please let me tell them!"

"You had your chance."

"They were kids! Barely toddlers!" He stood up, his anger finally getting the better of him. "How could I tell kids that their younger brother had died?!" He shouted it louder than he'd intended to. Marcus didn't flinch. "

"Like any other parent would. With honesty. Something that you're apparently lacking." His tone was scoffing.

Davenport spoke angrily again. "I wasn't a parent! Your Father up and left, and suddenly a little science project left me with three kids to raise! I…" He looked down. "I wasn't Dad material. I couldn't tell them." He took a moment to collect himself. "Not to mention the fact that I myself wanted to forget it."

Marcus angled his chin up a bit. "Tell me what happened."

This time, it was Davenport who glared, his grief fueling bitterness. "Why should I? Your Daddy already told you." He hated mirroring Marcus' nastiness, but it just came out.

"Tell. Me. Now." He hissed.

Davenport stared him down. He was feeling a horrible mix of emotions; shame, anger, fear, mourning… But it didn't seem like he had much of a choice. "Fine," he muttered. "Your Dad swore he wanted a four child family, but I told him that three children were enough. He wasn't ready to be a father, and I was scared he'd give up and leave them. He swore that he used to want big family, that he'd have my help and it would make his relationship with his wife grow stronger. I thought he wasn't ready. I ended up being right." He folded his arms.

"Oh, and you were such a great Dad?" Marcus asked.

"Do you want to hear the rest or not?" Marcus bit his lip. "He had a fourth child, and didn't tell me until about a month before he was born. Subject D. Your Father named him Daniel. We were going to give him a chip, but he… He got sick. Some birth issue, completely unrelated to the project." Donald looked down. "There wasn't anything I could do for him. The morning they took him back to the hospital, I gave your Father the chip we were going to use when he was a few months older, as a sort of good luck present. Since he'd have to survive to use it, I thought…" His voice broke, but he tried to keep his composure. "Look, I don't know what I thought." He turned and took a few short paces away from Marcus, unable to face him. A few days, and your Dad called me. He said… He said Daniel had died. There was nothing they could do for him, even with the money I'd given him for medical care." He shrugged. "I had the others at my house for the day, and your Dad just didn't come back. I called, I tried so hard, but he refused to tell me when the funeral would be, or to come get the children. I had plenty of money, but I knew I wasn't Father material. After a month I'd resolved to take them to court, since there was no way I could raise three kids. Take out the chips and put them into the system. But…" He turned back towards Marcus. He gave him a weak smile. "I couldn't do it."

"Why?" Marcus voice was quieter, but it had picked up a new harshness. "Because you were too proud? Because you couldn't get rid of your little project? You had to have their power in your hands?" He glared.

Davenport narrowed his eyes. He walked back to where Marcus was, and paused. Then he took in a breath, softening his expression. "Because I loved them, Marcus. Like they were my own children." A sort of warmth hit him as he admitted it, despite all of the negativity in the air and Marcus' expression. "So yeah, they don't know about subject D, and they've never met their Father. But that was never how I intended it to be, and I regret that it ended up that way. And I'm also sorry that your Father didn't show you the same love I could give to them. Despite all of my flaws, I love them. What about Garrett? Does he love you? Or did he just have you for more power?"

Suddenly Davenport was yanked forward, his head narrowly missing the bars that slammed into shoulders. He opened his eyes, Marcus' hand clenched to his shirt's collar, glaring at him. "Do you know what I could do to you?!" His face was inches away from Donald. "I could melt your face off with the heat vision that _you _designed." He smiled. "Or trap you in that cloud until you suffocate."

"You don't have to do any of this Marcus," Davenport whispered. "There are people out there who would love you, in spite of all of this. Who wouldn't force you to kidnap someone, who wouldn't raise you to use for their own gain. You can leave all of this."

"Stop _saying that!" _He shoved Donald backwards, and the inventor fell to the ground. Pain hit him as his back slapped the cement. "Not everyone is a loaded cocky guy with nice kids and a nice wife!" His eyes were shut tight, his teeth clenched in pain. "Your perfect little world isn't how everything out there is!"

He waited for more yelling, but it didn't come. He took a while to breathe again. Then he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. He looked up at Marcus. "I know that," He said through the pain. "A child I loved died, and I spent most of my early adulthood alone with three kids after my best friend disappeared. You think that was easy?"

Marcus was glaring again. "You don't know anything."

"Marcus, I'm sorry, okay?" He looked up. "I'm sorry. For everything that happened to you, for any mess-ups your Father and I made. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help you."

"And failing." He said. "Besides," His voice had quickly jumped back into the suave cruel Marcus. "You don't even know the whole truth."

His glance was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Marcus looked away from him for a moment, then back at Davenport. His tone, for once, was not biting or powerful, just serious.

"Subject D isn't dead."


	3. The Truth

**The short ending chapter. Please keep in mind that I'm intentionally writing this before Bionic Showdown comes out, so it's just my musings and probably won't line up with the canon. Thanks for reading, and feel free to let me know what you think :)**

**I also edited this a teensy bit after posting it. Thanks a ton for all of the reviews guys! Hope you liked it, and enjoy Bionic Showdown!**

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"Subject D isn't dead."

Staring at Marcus, denial was the first thing to hit him. Of course Daniel was dead. He was only 6 months old when Garrett took him to the hospital and… _I didn't go to the funeral. And I didn't see Garrett again after that. _"He had… The chip…" Donald looked up at Marcus, his eyes widening. "You…" He scrambled to stand up. Marcus raised his eyebrows. "You're Daniel? You're subject D?!"

"Dad changed my name so I didn't have to be connected to you anymore." Davenport's heart shook with a strange mix of relief and joy, despite being on the inside of a cage. "And he used the money he had from giving you the others to get the chip implanted by a doctor, no questions asked." The words went right over Davenport's head. He made his way over to Marcus, ignoring the pain. He reached out, and Marcus looked quizzically at the hand. Then he rested it gently on Marcus' shoulder, like years ago when he'd held the small baby for the first time. Marcus gave him a confused look. "What?"

"I… nothing, I just…" He smiled. "For so long, I thought you were dead. My entire life, and you were alive the whole time." He put his left hand over his mouth.

Marcus gave him a disgusted look, and swatted the hand off of his shoulder. "Let me remind you of your current state," He said, attempting and failing to match the villainous voice with a smile. "You're trapped by your old best friend and his Son. Your ex-friend walked off with your money, leaving you with three kids to care for and no idea that I was alive. And now I'm going to tell Adam, Bree and Chase about my Dad and I, and use you as bait to get them here so we can capture them. How can you be _happy?"_

His face settled into a content look. When he looked at the boy in front of him, suddenly he couldn't see cruelty, or anger, or evil. All he could see was life. That tiny baby he held in his arms, the youngest of the Davenport's, and here he was all grown up and safe. "I shouldn't be," He admitted, making eye contact once again with him. "I should be mad or panicked. And I'm sure I will be soon. But right now… I'm just so glad that you're alive."

"I'm alive and I hate you and your children. Or did you forget that?"

"No," He took a few steps back, retreating into the middle of the cage. He frowned. "It does hurt, to know what you're about to do, and that it will hurt my kids. I know soon I'll be furious with you. And I wish it didn't have to be this way. But I guess this is the price for you to be alive, so…" He sat down in the middle of the cage, not finishing the statement. "I understand why you're upset. And I wish things didn't have to be this way for you."

Marcus slammed his hands into the bars. "You don't make any sense, do you know that Mr. Davenport?" He used his old title for Davenport without thinking, no hint of a mocking tone in it. "No sense."

Donald took in a breath, his heart slowing down again. Marcus finally turned away from the bars.

"Marcus?" Donald called.

The boy turned around. He really could see the subtle similarities to the others now. Davenport stood up, and moved once more to the side of the cage. His voice was dark. "Please don't hurt my kids. They'll fight back." He found his glance turning determined. "And they will win."

Marcus rolled his sleeves up. "We'll just see about that."


End file.
